DISPATCHES

NATIONALIZING THE ELECTION

Democrats need to pick up 15 seats to gain the US House majority
but Charlie Cook of National Journal sees 28 seats as competitive,
and 11 of them are now held by Democrats. To regain the majority,
Dems would need to hold all their vulnerable seats and win 88% of the
GOP-held seats. Cook said that would be the equivalent of getting two
inside straights in the same poker game. But Democrats hope to put 50
or so seats in play and Cook says 85 or so GOP-held seats could
become competitive by next year if Democrats can recruit good
candidates. If the public continues to sour on the war in Iraq, high
energy costs and reports of Republican corruption and incompetence,
Democrats may find it easier to recruit strong candidates. Bush's
approval rating was at a record low of 37% in the 10/7/05 CBS News
poll and Dems were beating R's 45%-32% in Gallup's 10/13-16/05
generic matchups. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who heads the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, told The American Prospect's
Garance Franke-Ruta he hopes to recruit more than 50 strong
challengers and has targeted all open seats, incumbent R's tied to
scandal, such as Bob Ney (Ohio) and Richard Pombo (Calif.) and 18
districts that John Kerry carried last year but are rep'd by R's. Six
Democratic Iraq war veterans will take on Republican incumbents and
all three GOP incumbents in Connecticut will be targeted for the
first time. Cook noted that New Mexico Attorney General Patsy Madrid,
whom Democrats had been wooing for months, recently announced her
challenge to a perennial target, Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. "On
paper at least, Madrid is the strongest candidate to face Wilson
since her 1998 special election," Cook wrote. Filing deadlines range
from Dec. 19 in Illinois to Aug. 11 in Louisiana.

Rep. Tom DeLay has drawn a challenge from former Rep. Nick
Lampson, who was redistricted out of his Southeast Texas seat by
DeLay's corporate-sponsored legislature. A recent Survey USA poll
found 51% in DeLay's District 22 disapprove of the indicted
congressman and 42% think he should resign.

On the Senate side, where Democrats need to win six of seven
contested seats, Chuck Schumer's Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee has outpaced Elizabeth Dole's National Republican
Senatorial Committee in recruiting top-tier challengers. Dems have
lined up competitive challengers to GOP incumbents in Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Missouri, Arizona and Rhode Island. In five more states --
Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia and Mississippi -- GOP
incumbents are seen as vulnerable or are leaving seats open. While US
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine is not generally considered among the
targets, former TPP columnist Jean Hay Bright of Dixmont is
challenging Snowe as a progressive Democrat. See
www.jeanhaybright.us.

RIGHT SPLIT ON BUDGET CAPS: Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R) is
pushing to overturn his state's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a spending
cap that has forced critical cutbacks in state government services.
"I don't think it was designed to cripple government," Owens said,
according to the Los Angeles Times. "This is an unintended
consequence." But Kevin Drum of WashingtonMonthly.com is not buying
it. "Of course it was intended to cripple government. That's why
Grover Norquist and Dick Armey and the rest of the tax jihad army are
still fighting to keep it around. To them, destruction of state
services is a feature, not a bug. They won't be happy until Colorado
and the entire rest of the country look like Mississippi." Colorado
voters decide Nov. 1 whether to lift the cap for five years. Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Nov. 8 wants voters to enact similar
spending controls in California.

GAY MARRIAGE BAN MAY BACKFIRE: A Texas constitutional
amendment that purports to ban gay marriage may actually do the
opposite, due to poor wording, Texas liberals say. The proposed
amendment, up for an 11/8/05 vote, says that "marriage ... shall
consist only of the union of one man and one woman" and "This state
or a political subdivision ... may not create or recognize any legal
status identical or similar to marriage." Some read that
poorly-drafted language as prohibiting heterosexual marriage. Gay
marriage already is prohibited in Texas by statute, but liberal
opponents of the amendment hope confusion over the wording will help
them marshall more than 43%, which is the highest opposition to a gay
marriage ban tallied so far, in Oregon last year.

DELAY RIDES CORPORATE JET TO BOOKING: When former House
majority leader Tom DeLay showed up in Houston on Oct. 20 to post
bond on state charges of conspiracy and laundering money for the
illegal use of corporate money in Texas campaigns, the Washington
Post reported that he flew to Houston on a corporate jet owned by
R.J. Reynolds, a longtime contributor that has flown him to Puerto
Rico and other destinations; DeLay staffers said the jet was "used in
compliance with regulations." The company, which has also given
$17,000 to DeLay's legal defense fund, did not comment.

GAO REPORTS E-VOTE PROBLEMS: The Government Accountability
Office on 10/21/05 published a report that criticized the lack of
transparency and accountability in electronic voting systems, from
the day contracts are signed with manufacturers to the counting of
e-votes on election day. GAO identified vulnerabilities, including
potential modification of ballots and logs, and weak security
systems. It also identified problems that have occurred in elections
in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. According to
GAO, "Until these efforts are completed, there is a risk that many
state and local jurisdictions will rely on voting systems that were
not developed, acquired, testing, operated, or managed in accordance
with rigorous security and reliability standards -- potentially
affecting the reliability of future elections and voter confidence in
the accuracy of the vote count."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., ranking Democrat on the Government
Reform Committee, said the GAO report indicates the need to act
quickly to improve the security of electronic voting machines.
."State and local officials are spending a great deal of money on
machines without concrete proof that they are secure and reliable.
American voters deserve better," he said. "It is totally unacceptable
that in 21st-century America we would allow faulty machines and
systems to rob citizens of their voting rights," said Rep. John
Conyers, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, adding, "it is
incumbent upon Congress to respond to this problem and to enact
much-needed reforms such as a voter verified paper audit trail that
protects all Americans' right to vote."

HEALTH INEQUALITIES KILL: The gap in health care between
rich and poor Americans causes 84,000 additional deaths a year, more
than the equivalent of a hurricane Katrina every week, David Atkins,
of the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said on Oct. 21
in an editorial in the British Medical Journal. Atkins said the
images of people clinging to rooftops made it clear that being poor
and black in a poor southern state is hazardous to health. But the
victims die of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer,
HIV/AIDS and alcohol or drug addiction so they don't grab the
public's attention in the same way as the deaths caused by Katrina
which killed more than 1,200 people. "This may truly be a teachable
moment about the impact of poverty and race on health," said Atkins.
"In the rush to rebuild in the southern states, Americans should
pause to think more deeply about what it would take to create more
equitable and healthier communities in New Orleans and throughout the
affected area," Atkins said.

ARMED FORCES WON'T HEAR LIB TALK: Politicians apparently
shot down plans to put liberal radio talker Ed Schultz on Armed
Forces Radio in October. The Washington Post reported 10/18/05 that
the radio network agreed in September to carry Schultz's program as
an alternative to Rush Limbaugh, but on 10/17/05, the day Schultz was
supposed to go on, his producer got a call from Allison Barber, the
Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary for internal communications,
who said without explanation that the deal was off. "It kind of
floored us," Schultz told the Post from his studio in North Dakota.
"The fact is, they don't want dissenting voices or any other kind of
speech unless it's going to be promotional for them. Obviously, these
people are making sure they're not going to have any opinion other
than the Rush Limbaughs of the world." Limbaugh noted that the
network carries National Public Radio and declared, "I am the
political balance."

SENATE BOOTS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: The Senate, on a 15-82
vote on 10/20/05, rejected an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.,
that would have stripped $125 million of "pork" from the federal
highways bill to pay for repairs of the Katrina-damaged bridge over
Lake Pontchartain. Only four Democrats -- Evan Bayh, Ind., Kent
Conrad, N.D., Russ Feingold, Wis., and Mary Landrieu, La., joined 11
Republicans in voting for the amendment, which targeted two notorious
bridges in Alaska. During the debate, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska,
threatened to quit the Senate if it passed, but senators apparently
feared that prospect less than the precedent of putting earmarked
projects in jeopardy. The conservative Club for Growth noted that
pork-barrel projects in federal spending bills have tripled over the
past five years, from 4,326 in 2000 to 13,997 in 2005.

DEMS FORCE GULF WAGE VOTE: Invoking a never-before-used
parliamentary rule included in the National Emergencies Act,
Democratic House leaders are demanding an up-down vote on Bush's
suspension of the Davis-Bacon law in the Gulf Coast. George Miller,
D-Calif., on 10/20/05 introduced a Joint Resolution under the 1976
National Emergencies Act, which provides for fast-track action by
Congress when the president unilaterally suspends a law, as he did
with Davis-Bacon. Congress must act on Miller's Joint Resolution
within 15 calendar days -- in this case, by 11/4/05. Nathan Newman
noted at TPMCafe.com, "37 Republicans have written to the president
opposing his suspension of the Act, more than enough to overturn
Bush's action, and they may have to put their votes where their
mouths are if the Democrats succeed with this maneuver."
UPDATE: On Wednesday, Oct. 26, President Bush rescinded his
order, effectively restoring the prevailing wage for federal
contractors along the Gulf Coast.

US WORKERS STIFFED ON WAGES: Only 25.2% of American workers
have a job that pays at least $16 per hour and provides health
insurance and a pension, according the Center for Economic and Policy
Research (cepr.net). The report, "How Good is the Economy at Creating
Good Jobs?" found that between 1979 and 2004 the share of American
workers in good jobs remained unchanged at about 25%, despite strong
economic growth over that period. In the last quarter century, the US
workforce has become older, more experienced and better educated, but
75% are still struggling in jobs that do not provide health
insurance, a pension and solid middle-class wages. Since 1979,
inflation-adjusted GDP per person increased 60%, but the percentage
of workers in good jobs remained unchanged at about 25%. The study
also found that 26.6% of the workforce is in a job that pays poorly
and offers neither health insurance or a pension. This is close to
the share of Americans in bad jobs in 1979 (27.9%).

GOVS OPPOSE FED DISASTER TAKEOVER: Many of the nation's
governors are banding together to ensure state authorities remain in
control during disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, Stateline.org
reported. Carrying the message to Congress, Govs. Jeb Bush (R) of
Florida, Janet Napolitano (D) of Arizona and Rick Perry (R) of Texas
testified at a hearing 10/19/05 that states have the specialized
resources to deal with emergencies within their borders. "Let Texans
run Texas," Perry told the House Committee on Homeland Security. The
hearing came less than a week after the National Governors
Association, led by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), declared NGA's
opposition to President Bush's suggestions that federal officials
assume more authority in emergencies. Governors from Alabama,
Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana and West Virginia also have
been quoted as decrying any attempt to give up

the power to oversee evacuations, rescues and recoveries. A survey
by USA Today published 10/3/05 showed only two of 38 governors who
responded -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Minnesota Gov.
Tim Pawlenty (R) -- were willing to consider Bush's suggestion that
Congress might want to make the Pentagon the top authority in certain
disasters. "The military is not a fire department, a police
department or a hospital," Perry said. "Leave first response to the
first-responders."

GOP WOULD RESTRICT VOTER REGISTRATION: A gag rule in the
Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (HR 1461) would restrict the
ability of non-profit organizations to register new voters or
advocate for their members if they seek grants from the Affordable
Housing Fund, OMB Watch (ombwatch.org) reported. Even non-partisan
activities such as voter registration and get-out-the vote efforts
that use unrelated funds are restricted under the provision by
Republicans whose right-wing leaders have worked to make it more
difficult for low-income citizens to vote. Affiliation with any
entity that engages in electoral activities from 12 months before
applying for a grant through the grant period also would disqualify a
group from receiving federal grants. UPDATE: On Oct. 26, the
House approved the Federal Housing Reform Act with the provision
barring non-profit organizations and their affiliates from
registering new voters and other political activity.

FEINSTEIN WITHDRAWS BILL THAT WOULD PROTECT CORPORATE
ABUSERS: Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has introduced a bill to
undermine the Alien Tort Clams Act, which is used by human rights
activists to hold corporations responsible for their actions in
developing nations, Nathan Newman noted at NathanNewman.org. In June
2004 the Supreme Court ruled in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain that non-US
citizens may sue their abusers in US federal court under the Alien
Tort Claims Act. "So what Bush -- and now Feinstein -- want to do is
reverse this victory and shut the courtroom door to those victims,"
Newman wrote. "It's not like ATCA has been a massively effective law
in shutting down corporate operations overseas, but these
corporations don't even want the possibility of having to answer
questions about their dirty dealings overseas." UPDATE: After
this went to press, Sen. Feinstein announced on Oct. 25 that after
conferring with human rights activists she was withdrawing this bill
from consideration.

BUSH: TORTURE OK FOR CIA: The Bush administration has
proposed exempting CIA employees from a legislative measure endorsed
10/5/05 by 90 senators that would bar cruel and degrading treatment
of any prisoners in US custody, the Washington Post reported
10/25/05. In related news, a federal judge in Virginia ruled 10/24/05
that prosecutors can use a confession extracted from a US citizen who
alleges he was tortured by Saudi Arabian security officers. Ahmed
Omar Abu Ali, a Houston native, was studying at the University of
Medina when he was arrested by Saudi police. He is charged with
conspiracy to assassinate the president, conspiracy to commit
aircraft piracy, providing material support to al Qaeda and other
crimes. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

GOP: 'DON'T GET TECHNICAL': As special prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald pursues possible charges against White House staffers in
the Plame CIA leak scandal, Republicans were trying out their spins
and bewailing the "criminalization of politics." Bill Kristol on Fox
News Sunday said, "Scooter Libby or Karl Rove are going to be judged
criminals for perhaps acknowledging her name, perhaps knowing, though
there's no evidence they did, that she was a covert operative
That's a crime?" Judd Legum of ThinkProgress.org observed, "Yes,
outing a covert CIA operative is a crime. So is obstruction of
justice and perjury." Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, on Meet the
Press said she hoped if Fitzgerald pursues charges against White
House personnel that he would indict "on a crime and not some perjury
technicality." Funny that when the Republican House impeached Bill
Clinton seven years ago, Hutchison was among the GOP senators who
voted (but failed to convict) Clinton on perjury and obstruction
"technicalities." (When NBC's Tim Russert pointed this out, Hutchison
said, "There were charges against Bill Clinton besides perjury and
obstruction of justice." There were not.)